Zumba and Marshmallows
by blakes8th
Summary: An unexpected meeting at an exercise class may lead to so much more. A little bit of gratuitous Sandland.


Zumba and Marshmallows

Disclaimer: New Tricks belongs to the BBC, just indulge me...

Rating: T+

/

"How on earth is this supposed to be good for you?"

Sandra Pullman leaned heavily against the wall of the sports centre, waiting as her friend handed in the locker keys they had hired. She ached all over and felt as if a steam roller had been practising on her, the muscles in her calves and thighs were trembling and she could barely raise her arms, her friend Lucy laughed.

"Zumba is supposed to be a fun and upbeat way to work out, tone those muscles that you've forgotten you had."

"I don't think they wanted to be toned, my muscles are telling me that they would like to go back into retirement." Sandra moaned. Lucy laughed.

"The best bit is yet to come, follow me." She started up the steps towards the little cafe within the centre. Sandra groaned.

"Stairs! I can barely walk!"

"Come on, or would you like me to fetch you a zimmer Granny?" Lucy teased, Sandra made a face at her and followed, climbing the thirty or so steps which led to the next floor.

"This had better be worth it." Sandra grumbled to herself. They entered the cafe area and Lucy made her way to a seat next to a window which looked down over the swimming pool. She turned to Sandra.

"Wait here, you'll soon see that the pain of the workout was well worth it." She went off to the counter and Sandra sat down next to the window. She felt a little self conscious sitting there in her workout gear, she had never felt that leggings had been very flattering on her, and the neon green sleeveless sports top hugged her more than it used to, pushing her breasts up like a corset. She wrapped her zip up hoodie around herself and decided that if she was going to come here regularly, she would have to invest in some new gear. She looked down at the pool, noticing that people had started to file into the showers by the side of the pool. At that moment, Lucy returned with a tray, Sandra gasped. There were two huge mugs of hot chocolate topped with a swirl of whipped cream, marshmallows and fudge pieces, and two pieces of cake.

"This goes with the exercise, does it?" She asked. Lucy grinned.

"Well, the cake is carrot cake, so that's one of our five a day. And chocolate is a bean. That's my defence and I'm sticking with it." Sandra laughed, she took a bit of the cake.

"That is good."

"So is that." Lucy pointed to the pool, Sandra followed her gaze, the pool was slowly filling with people swimming lengths, Sandra frowned.

"What?" She asked, Lucy rolled her eyes.

"It's men's fitness tonight. The pool fills with eye candy, all swimming lengths for an hour, so most of them are buff. There are a couple of regulars who are really dishy. And this is the best seat in the house." She looked down at the pool. "There, that one, the blonde with the blue shorts. That's one of the regulars, I've been working up to asking him out."

"How do you know he's single, he could be married with a herd of children." Sandra pointed out, Lucy shrugged.

"Then I'll try his friend, that one." She pointed to a dark haired figure, moving effortlessly through the water. Sandra had to admit that he had a good figure, not overly muscled, but toned, and the black jammers showed his bum off perfectly.

"Hmmm, not bad, but again, how do you know he's not taken?"

"Oh, I'll keep trying until I find one who isn't." Lucy laughed. Sandra shook her head.

"You are a bad influence, do you know that?"

"I do hope so. You need some fun in your life...Ooooh look, he's getting out."

Sandra followed her gaze as her friend watched the blonde get out and make his way to the low diving board. He looked up at the window and gave a little wave before diving back in. Lucy smiled. "He's been doing that the last couple of weeks. Do you think I should try and bump into him?"

"I think you should, or you may get done for stalking." Sandra laughed, the women finished their drinks and cakes and watched as the figures swam. The blonde man kept on looking up at them until he sat on the side and waited for the dark haired man to reach the end of the pool. He pushed himself up, his shoulder muscles flexing before turning and sitting next to the other man. The blonde one said something and the dark haired one looked up at them. Sandra spluttered on her drink, as she recognised him. Lucy looked at her, a question in her eyes.

"What?" She asked as Sandra tried to melt into her seat.

"That's my boss!" Sandra hissed. Lucy looked towards the two men. "Don't look!"

"Which one?"

"The dark haired one."

"The one with the great bum?"

"YES! Now can we go please?"

"Wow, you work with him? You could ask him about his friend. Is he single?"

"Divorced."

"Look, they're getting out. Come on, let's try to bump into them.."

"Lucy, no! The man is my boss, I can't..."

"Oh come on. Where's your sense of adventure?"

"Cowering in the corner." Sandra whined as she was dragged towards the stairs, she followed her friend down to the lobby, hoping that they would miss the two men, no such luck though as the two in question came out of the male changing rooms at that exact moment. Sandra flinched slightly as she caught the surprised look on her bosses face. Lucy bounded over to the men, her long brunette curls bouncing, making her look like an eager spaniel.

"Hi, Sandra couldn't believe it when she recognised you, isn't it a small world?"

"Yes, yes it is." Robert Strickland stuttered, slightly taken back at the direct attack from her friend, he looked at Sandra, but he was rescued by his friend.

"Hi, my name is Nick, you've been coming here for several weeks haven't you?"

"Yes. This is Sandra's first time though. I'm Lucy by the way"

"I don't suppose you'd like to go for a drink or something?" He asked Lucy, she blushed.

"I'm not really dressed for going out..But if you don't mind a small detour so that I can change...?" She smiled. She turned to Sandra. "Is that Okay. I can drop you off at your place.."

"Oh, I came with Rob, so he could give you a lift home." Nick grinned. Rob flashed him a dirty look, before nodding.

"Of course I can." He agreed, smiling at Sandra apologetically. They watched as Nick and Lucy headed for the door, Lucy gave them a little wave. Sandra and Rob stood in an uncomfortable silence for a few minutes until Rob smiled softly.

"Sorry, you seem to have been left with the booby prize." He said, before his eyes widened, noticing the rather revealing top Sandra was wearing. He flushed scarlet, "I...Ummm..." Sandra started to giggle, her shoulders shaking.

"I need to get a new top. I haven't worn this one for a couple of years." She agreed. He smiled shyly.

"I think you look amazing." He admitted, then looked at her, a horrified expression on his face. "Oh God. Did I say that out loud? I'm so sorry..." She smiled at him.

"It's alright. I'll confess that I was admiring your 'form' earlier in the pool, before I realised who you were. And for the record, you're not the booby prize." She told him, linking her arm through his, he blushed again.

"So, your friend Lucy..."

"Lucy is a whirlwind of fun who I have known since school. She's like that all the time. Nick..."

"A friend from the boat club. He's a bit of a party fiend, but his heart is in the right place."

"Sounds like they are the perfect match." She smiled. He looked down at the floor.

"I'll give you a ride home." He said quietly, hefting his bag over his shoulder. She watched as he led the way to his car, he'd gone very quiet, almost sullen and Sandra wasn't sure what had caused the change. When they were seated in his car, travelling slowly through the traffic towards her house, she decided to broach the subject.

"What's wrong?" She asked. He chewed his bottom lip slightly, a sign that Sandra had come to realise meant he was thinking. He shrugged slightly.

"Just feeling sorry for myself."

"Why?" She asked. He sighed.

"It's been over a year since I last had any sort of date, and we both know how that turned out..." Sandra nodded, she knew he was referring to the Berlin witch. She looked at him, watching as he concentrated on the car ahead of them.

"Does it bother you." She asked softly. He shrugged.

"A little. I do my best but whenever I try to talk to a woman socially, I turn into a complete idiot..." He laughed, but there was no humour in the sound. "Not that you'd notice, I know you all think I'm an idiot anyway." He sighed. "I'm sorry, I wasn't in a very sociable mood when I came out. Nick insisted on coming, he said had his eye on a brunette who kept on watching us." He gave Sandra a small smile. "At least they're happy." She sat in silence for a few minutes, she had never seen her boss in this sort of mood, he seemed to be surrounded by a cloud of gloom which was pushing him down. She racked her brain for any idea of what could have put him in such a state. He had seemed perfectly alright at work, though when she thought about it, she hadn't seen him much today. She noticed that they had turned into her road.

"Why don't you come in for a moment?" She asked as he pulled into her driveway. She didn't know why, but she didn't want him to go home, not like this. He looked down.

"I'd better not, I should leave you in peace." He answered without looking at her. She shook her head, she wasn't about to take 'no' for an answer.

"Please. I have a beef casserole in the slow cooker waiting for me, and a good bottle of red to go with it. Please come in for a bit." She almost pleaded.

"I don't want you to think you have to put up with me just because you feel you have to." He told her, she frowned.

"I want you to come in. I want you to eat with me, and I want you to tell me what's troubling you." She told him, her voice stern. He looked at her, a wry smile on his face.

"Interrogation time?"

"If that's what it takes. And it is a good casserole, even if I do say so myself." She grinned. He seemed to consider it for a moment then smiled shyly.

"You twisted my arm." He told her. She felt a small sense of victory as they got out of the car and he followed her into her flat. She showed him into her kitchen and invited him to open the bottle of wine while she dished out the meal. They were soon sat at her table, eating in companionable silence.

As he swallowed the last fork full from his plate, he sat back and smiled at her.

"That really was delicious. Thank you." He smiled.

"Don't thank me, thank Delia." She grinned. He watched as she finished her own meal, her eyes catching his from time to time, until she sat back and sipped her wine.

"So, will you tell me why you are so down this evening?" She asked, her straight forward approach catching him off guard. He looked down at his glass of wine, his finger tracing the rim of the glass.

"It's my birthday." he said quietly, so quietly that she almost didn't hear him. Sandra sat upright, her mouth open in surprise, she stared at the man sat opposite her.

"I had no idea!" She exclaimed. "Why didn't you say something earlier?" She couldn't believe that neither she nor her boys had had any idea. He shrugged.

"It doesn't really matter, I've never really made much of a fuss, it's just that..." He went quiet. She watched his face fall as the gloom came over him again.

"Go on...Please." She encouraged him to continue. He looked up at her, his eyes meeting hers.

"This is the first time I haven't had a card or phone call from either of my children." His voice broke slightly. Sandra felt a lump in her throat, she was one of the few who knew the details of his divorce, and the devastation it had wreaked upon the man in front of her. Before his marriage had broken apart he had been a confident and controlled man, his enthusiasm for the job had made him seem at times like a child at Christmastime. After, he had become withdrawn and snappy, and for a while he had been very hard to get along with. This is what had prompted her to question him on his behaviour one evening after he had reamed her and the boys out after a relatively minor setback in a case. He had apologised and admitted that his divorce had turned very nasty, and his wife was turning his children against him. They had talked at length, sitting on the sofa in the UCOS office, well into the evening, over several cups of coffee. He had opened up to her, telling her stories about his children, and how much he missed them. He had asked her to pull him up if he ever started to take his frustrations out on the team, and they had developed a fragile truce that evening.

"Happy birthday." She smiled softly, her eyes full of compassion. "It's not too late, maybe they'll still phone you." She tried to re-assure him. He shook his head.

"They've forgotten, or just can't be bothered. They have a new life now, with a new, very rich step-father who can buy them anything they want whenever they want it. They don't have room in their lives for me." He took a large swig of his wine before refilling his glass. Sandra wanted to say something to comfort him, but she knew there was nothing she could say or do that would make this better. Instead she reached across and took hold of his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. He looked up at her.

"Sorry. I told you I would be rotten company tonight." He smiled shyly. She shrugged.

"That's okay. I just wish I had known it was your birthday, I could have got you a card at least."

"You have served me up a delicious meal, and made my evening a little less lonely. That's a better present than I've had in years. Thank you." He smiled, he gave the hand which was still holding his a small squeeze. She smiled.

"You are very welcome. How about we go and sit somewhere a little more comfortable to finish our wine?"

"Do you want a hand clearing up?" He asked, she waved her hand.

"No, I can take care of this another time, I just want to relax for a bit." She stood and led the way to her sofa where she sank down onto the soft leather, letting out a groan. She smiled wryly at Robert.

"I thought exercise was supposed to make you feel better. I feel like someone has used me as a doormat." She explained, he laughed softly.

"Sit forward." He told her, she complied shuffling her bottom to the edge of the sofa. Robert sat behind her and started to massage her shoulders and neck, using his fingers to relieve the knots in her muscles. She sighed, closing her eyes.

"Okay?" He asked, as his hands worked lower, across the tight material covering her back. She nodded.

"Incredible." She purred as his hands worked their soothing magic on her tangled muscles. She leaned back as he worked his way back up to her shoulders. Suddenly his hands were gone, she whimpered at the loss of contact.

"I'm sorry. I should go." He tried to extricate himself from the soft seat, but she half turned and laid a hand on his thigh.

"What's wrong?" She asked, she noticed he was avoiding her gaze. He shrugged.

"I need to leave, I don't want to do something stupid." He muttered, Sandra looked at him puzzled for a second.

"Stupid? Like what?" She asked, he looked at her for a moment, his eyes blazing. She had never seen such an intense look from him before, she had seen him angry, and annoyed. She had seen him focused on a case, and at his wits end. And she had seen him at his very lowest, when the weight of the world seemed to be trying to crush him. But she had never seen this before, he looked almost hungry, and the realisation of what he was hungry for made her swallow nervously. She turned so that she could wrap her arms around his back, her fingers playing with the soft hair on the nape of his neck.

"Why do you think it's stupid?" She asked quietly, he sighed.

"Because I'm rubbish at being a husband, or even a boyfriend. I don't want to ruin what we have and end up with you hating the sight of me, like every woman I've ever been involved with before." He closed his eyes. Sandra could tell that the only thing that was keeping him from bolting for the door was the fact that she was sitting in his lap, effectively pinning him to the sofa. She felt her heart ache at the sadness in his face, and the absolute belief that it was all his fault that his relationships had broken down. She brushed her fingertips along his jaw, feeling the light stubble. She felt his jaw muscles clench, and his body tense, she knew he was physically responding to her, but mentally he was fighting against his desires. She was fully aware that he had always harboured an attraction to her, when they had first started to work together he had been less than subtle, as had her knock backs. But over the years, he had seemed to stop trying, his marriage breakup had made him doubt himself, and he had become withdrawn and shy around those who knew him, oh he had kept up a good show for every body else, even making a point of trying to chat up women at the office parties and functions. But she had see through those clumsy attempts as him just going through the motions.

Which is why she had been so angry when she had seen him with Christy Berlin. She had seen the love he had poured into 'that' kiss, and she had known then that he was going to get hurt. When the bitch had admitted using him, Sandra had been so close to slapping her that she had drawn blood on the palm of her hands where she had been clenching her fists so hard. And sure enough, she had left him in pieces. That had been less that a month ago, and he was obviously still struggling to put those pieces back in some kind of order. She gently cupped his chin, forcing him to look at her. As his deep blue eyes met her pale blue, she smiled softly.

"Have you ever considered the possibility that it's not you that's the problem, but rather that you have never met a woman who is deserving of your affection." She saw him start to withdraw from her and added her other hand to stop him turning away. "Maybe you haven't met anyone who is good enough for you yet." He gave her a sad smile.

"Oh, I've met her. But she's out of my league. She can have any man she wants, there's no way she could ever be content with a lost cause like me." He replied. His voice low and husky, yet she could hear the slight tremor in it which betrayed him. She knew he was talking about her and she felt her heart break for the man in front of her.

"You're not a lost cause. You've been hurt, and used. Those women in your past have abused your gentle nature, and they didn't deserve your affection." She made a snap decision, she knew at that moment that she had to seize this moment, and for the first time in the longest time, she felt as though all the pieces had suddenly fallen into place, and she knew what she had to do. She moved her hands up to cup his head, her fingers running through his dark hair, she could see his Adam's apple moving, and he moved his hands to her waist, his deep blue eyes locked with hers. She moved forward and gently laid her lips on his, starting the kiss slowly, pressing him to respond. He started to kiss her back, his hands involuntarily moving from her waist up her back, pulling her closer to him. He couldn't help but respond to her touch, the sensations of being close to her making him lose all ability to think rationally. He deepened the kiss, his hands finding the bare flesh of her back, exposed by the low cut sports top. He stopped, startled at the contact. He pulled away.

"Sandra. Dear God, I'm so sorry..." He started, but she silenced him with a finger on his lips.

"Shhh. I'm not. You need somebody to show you how special you are, and I want to be that person." She pushed her weight forward, forcing him to lay back on her sofa, she followed him down, laying alongside him. She sighed as his arms enfolded her, their lips colliding in a passionate dance. They allowed their instincts to take over, driving them on, without any thought of consequences, or propriety. The only thing that mattered at that moment in time, was the feeling of being with each other.

/

Sandra awoke a few hours later, still wrapped in his arms, the soft throw from the back of the sofa covering them, keeping the chill off them in the absence of their clothes which were decorating the floor around them. The steady rise and fall of his chest under her hand synchronised with his soft breath which she could feel against her hair. The rhythm of his heart beating beneath her ear was the only sound she could hear, the warmth of his naked body against hers and the feeling of being cocooned within his embrace making her feel content in a way she had not felt for the longest time.

She was exhausted, but he was a tall man, far to tall for her sofa, so she moved her hand in a lazy circle, causing him to groan. She moved her hand lower, waking that part of his anatomy which had a life of its own. His breathing changed and she smiled, looking up into his desire filled eyes.

"Let's continue this in my bedroom, it will be much more comfortable." She purred. He gave her a shy smile.

"I'm all yours." He whispered. She stood, shedding the throw, the sight of his body making her glow. She took his hand, leading him towards her bed, her stomach turning somersaults as she saw the look of hunger in his face as he regarded her naked form. Once in the comfort of her private space, he drove her to the heights of bliss, over and over, until finally, they lay sated in each others arms. Sandra gave him a kiss, a smile forming as a thought came unbidden to her mind. He smiled and gave her a quizzical look.

"I was just thinking...Forget zumba, they say that sex is the best form of exercise." She explained. He grinned.

"Carry on like this, we'll be like whippets within a month." He replied, she laughed.

"Then you'll have to keep me fed. Wouldn't want my strength to fail." She propped herself up on her elbow. "Take me to dinner tomorrow?" She suggested. He nodded.

"Anything for you."

"And Rob."

"Yes."

"Happy birthday."

/


End file.
